Early life Danton was born Raymond Caplan in New York City, the son of Myrtle (née Menkin) and Jack Caplan. His family was Jewish, and he was a descendant of the
Vilna Gaon. He began acting on radio and stage regularly also working as an assistant stage manager. Danton attended
Horace Mann School and in 1947 he started at what is now
Carnegie Mellon University where he appeared in many stage productions. He went to New York to try and make it on Broadway and ended up appearing on television dramas. In 1950, he went to London to appear on stage in the
Tyrone Power production
Mister Roberts. He returned to guest star on shows like
Danger (an episode directed by
Sidney Lumet) and
Starlight Theatre. MGM borrowed him to play
Susan Hayward's boyfriend in ''
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), a sizeable hit. Back at Universal he had a role in The Spoilers (1955) then played his first lead in Outside the Law'' (1956). He was prolific in television work as well as film where he received the
Golden Globe Award in 1956 for the new male star of the year in film. He had the lead in
The Night Runner (1957) and appeared in shows like
Studio 57,
Schlitz Playhouse,
Playhouse 90,
Studio One in Hollywood,
Matinee Theatre,
Climax!, and
Decision.
Warner Bros. Danton had a supporting role in
Too Much, Too Soon (1958) at Warner Bros playing an abusive husband of
Diana Barrymore. He signed a long-term contract with the studio, appearing in
Onionhead (1958). Danton starred in
Tarawa Beachhead (1958) at Columbia, with co-star Kerwin Mathews, and his off-screen wife Julie Adams. That year, Danton guest-starred in
Yancy Derringer and shows
77 Sunset Strip. He returned to MGM to star in two films for
Albert Zugsmith:
The Beat Generation and
The Big Operator. Warners gave him supporting roles in
Yellowstone Kelly and
Ice Palace and gave him the lead in a TV series
The Alaskans (1959-1960). The studio then cast him in his most famous role
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) where he played the
eponymous gangster for director
Budd Boetticher. He appeared in the drama series
Bourbon Street Beat,
Hawaiian Eye,
Cheyenne,
Maverick and
The Roaring 20s. In 1960, Danton and
Ron Foster were cast as Kane and Tommy Potts, respectively, in the episode "Bounty List" of the Western series
Colt .45. He also appeared in the ABC/WB Western
Lawman. Response was so strong Warners announced they would give Danton his own show,
Las Vegas. Instead, he did
A Fever in the Blood (1961) and reprised the role of Legs Diamond in
Vic Morrow's
Portrait of a Mobster. Danton maintained his gangster persona with the title role in
The George Raft Story, a screen biography of 1930s actor/dancer
George Raft. "I guess I'm the last of the big time gangsters," he said in a 1962 interview. In 1961, Danton co-starred with
Rosalind Russell,
Alec Guinness, and
Madlyn Rhue in
A Majority of One. He was one of many stars in
The Longest Day (1962) and had a supporting role in
The Chapman Report (1962). On October 9, 1962, Danton appeared as the gunfighter Vince Jackson in the episode "The Fortune Hunter" of
Laramie. He also guest-starred in the NBC Western
Empire and its successor series
Redigo, both starring
Richard Egan. November 7, 1962 he took on the role of Lt. Steve Hamilton, one of Col. Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders"(It's 1898 and The Spanish American War)in an episode entitled "Riff-Raff" on the first season of
"The Virginian." Danton was in the TV movie
FBI Code 98 (1963). In 1964, Danton was cast in the episode "The Wooing of Perilous Pauline" of
Death Valley Days. He returned to the stage to perform in
110 in the Shade.
Europe Danton went to Europe to star in
Sandokan to the Rescue (1964) which was popular enough for a sequel
Return of Sandokan (1964). He stayed in Europe to make
Code Name: Jaguar (1965). He returned to the USA to guest star in
Honey West and
The Man from UNCLE then went back to Europe to make
Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966),
How to Win a Billion... and Get Away with It (1967),
Si muore solo una volta (1967),
Lucky, el intrépido (1967),
Hello Glen Ward, House Dick (1968), and
Die grosse Treibjagd (1969). He would periodically return to the US to guest star on shows like
Ironside, ‘’Hawaii Five-0’’,
It Takes a Thief, and
Dan August.
Producer and director He formed a production company in Europe producing films like
The Last Mercenary and began directing with
Deathmaster (1972) and
Psychic Killer (1975). Danton continued directing as well as acting and started producing films such as
Triangle in 1971. He was in
The Ballad of Billie Blue (1972),
A Very Missing Person (1972),
Runaway! (1973),
The Centerfold Girls (1974), and
Apache Blood (1975).
Return to the U.S. He guest-starred in an episode of
Nakia and a
Hawaii Five-O episode, "Steal Now, Pay Later". He began a busy directing career in television, helming episodes of
Switch,
Baretta,
Cagney & Lacey,
Fame,
T.J. Hooker and ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer''. "Acting has fallen to an all-time low in this country," he said in a 1985 interview. He directed a stage production of
Come Back, Little Sheba in 1987. Danton directed many episodes of
Magnum PI in Season 8, 1987–1988. ==Personal life==